Independent Living Alternatives

ILA believes that everyone has a right to live independently.

• Do you want to work in an environment where every day you are empowering a disabled person to do what they want to do? ​

We believe that everyone should be in control of what they do and when they do it: needing personal assistance does not mean losing control and independence.

If you agree with this, you should consider working as a Personal Assistant with Independent Living Alternatives:

• Independent Living Alternatives is a user controlled organisation – the people who use the service control the service

• We have full-time and part-time work across London with physically disabled people living independently in their own home

• Salaries start from £11.44 per hour plus holiday, pension and overtime

• You choose when you work and when you don’t work – you also decide if you want a flexible or fixed contract of employment

• We offer free online training and you don’t pay for your DBS​

You don’t need any experience to work as a Personal Assistant with Independent Living Alternatives, just an open mind and a willingness to learn new things.

• PAs are great communicators, have lots of patience, excellent listening skills and are able to follow instructions to do what the disabled person asks them to

• PAs tell us that they have great working relationships with the disabled people at ILA

• Disabled people tell us that PAs are flexible and PAs enjoy the diversity of disabled people they work for including artists, accountants, activists and homemakers

• Over 75% of ILA PAs stay for more than a year on their placement

“I’ve worked with ILA for 10 years now. I know the family and I am happy with the PA user; I like the mornings as we talk a lot and there are always interesting topics –I’ve learnt loads regarding disability and social services etc.”

The role of a Personal Assistant (PA) is an extremely varied and interesting one from the basics of personal care (getting some dressed, bathed and feeding meals and cooking and cleaning)  to having a unique insight into an individual’s life and learning skills (from assisting someone at work or in social activities to assisting at a conference or demonstrating outside Parliament!)